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Architecture/Urban Planning/Infrastructure
premise that all of these free users are one day going to become
economically viable.” Beyond that, Bhatia says it is important to
apply hybrid business models that appeal to and tap the disposable
incomes of affluent users (by emphasizing time-saving convenience)
and the fashion-conscious, aspirational youth market.
Just as simple accessible technology can make people’s lives
easier and more fulfilling, so can a city that connects its residents
through that technology, enables them to easily walk or take public
transit to work, produces and conserves its own reliable energy
and clean water, and accommodates urban professionals and rural
villagers side by side. The Nanocity project, in India’s Haryana
State, is the embodiment of Bhatia’s vision.
A joint venture of Bhatia’s Nanocity Developers (itself a publicprivate
partnership of the Bhatia Group and the Haryana state
government) and Parsvnath Developers has so far committed
$300 million for land acquisition. Up to $1.5 billion more will be
needed for infrastructure build-out alone on what is now farmland
in the Panchkula district of Haryana. Seven existing rural villages,
the largest with 4,000 residents, will have to be accommodated, as
will construction workers who will need to be housed at the site.
Bhatia envisions a modern, sustainable, fully-wired community
dedicated, like Silicon Valley, to innovation and the creation of
intellectual property in software, materials, and pharmaceuticals.
Half of the land is committed to parks and open space. Urban
structures will be built to greater density, combining commercial
development on the lower floors with residences above in four
districts—IT, University, Airport and Biotech—that emphasize
business, culture, trade and tourism, and basic research.
Rain harvesting, wastewater treatment, and green building design
will provide much of the city’s water supply; energy will come from
a combination of surplus hydropower from neighboring Himachal
Pradesh state and renewable solar, wind, and biomass sources.
Buildings will be designed to utilize sunshading, cross-ventilation,
and other cooling techniques to reduce energy consumption. A
public transit grid, special lanes for two-wheelers, and walkable
distances are designed in to reduce automobile use.
Bhatia’s architectural and planning team is the Berkeley Group
for Architecture and Planning, made up of 16 graduate students
and 7 faculty from the UC Berkeley College of Environmental
Design (see UC Berkeley information in Chapter 4).
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